Need immediate help with Goldfish taken into emergency custody?

Question

I volunteer at an animal shelter where 2 Goldfish have been taken into emergency custody.  Their tank is FILTHY!  It's so bad that you can barely even see the fish through the haze of filth (there are 2, one all orange approx. 3", another mostly white w/ orange around gills, about 2").  They are in a 10 gallon tank, VERY small gravel substrate.  There is a power filter but the bag is overgrown with filth and there's no biological media.  Today I removed approx. 60% of the water (you wouldn't believe the waste that was sucked up) and replaced with fresh water (treated w/ StartRight) at the same temp.  I also added a new charcoal filter bag to the filter.  Tomorrow I will be adding a sponge filter for biological filtration and additional aeration.  I would really like to clean the entire tank and replace the small gravel w/ larger gravel but there is no place for them to go while the tank cycles.  Any ideas on how I can get this tank up to snuff without hurting the fish?  At home I have only tropical fish so I am not familiar w/ the care of goldfish.  PS:  I didn't have my testing kit w/ me today so I couldn't test Ph, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Just keep doing the large partial water changes and cleaning / vacuming etc.

The filth and dirty gravel will be the bio-media at the moment, so a complete strip and clean will destroy the tanks current cycle.

Dont worry about a bit of green in the tank, it's only algae. It looks ugly but it's harmless and because it's a live plant it will generally improve the water quality.

Just take your time, with regular care and lots of fresh water the tank will come right soon enough. They are going to need a bigger tank soon though, dont adopt them out to a newbie fish keeper with that size tank.

If you cant test the water, just keep changing it. Even it a water change isn't needed, it will do no harm. If you have ammonia, nitrite or nitrate problems the water change will help, at least temporarily.

Ian

Xrlp · Answer

The size of the tank is the main problem. Goldfish live and thrive in mud ponds over in China and Japan, I don't think the algae is much of a shock to them, but I'm surprised the toxins from the waste didn't kill them.

Look at this website and tell me what kind of goldifish they are:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/ftypes.html

If they're any of the first 3 they need 75 gallons of water per fish, common, comet, and shubunkin goldfish can grow to 14 + inches.

If they're any of the others they're fancy goldfish, fancy goldfish can grow to 8 + inches and need 30 gallons of water per fish.

I recommend these filters:

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~filters_hagen_aquaclear_power.html

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3610

sephxangel · Answer

I would but the fish in bags like they do at pet stores if you could do that and just to be on the safe side put them in a deep bowl with water of the same temp they are used to, in case the bag opens up by accident. you need to replace the gravel and water as soon as possible because even though you put cleaner water in there the dirt is still there.Best of luck to you and the fishies!

David B · Answer

It sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep doing daily water changes of around 25%. You might want to add an ammonia reducing agent like Amquel+.

Need immediate help with Goldfish taken into emergency custody?

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